nicolanoe.it Un sito dedicato agli spazi verdi e all'ambiente – A site dedicated to green spaces and the Environment
During the meeting with the interns at the Politecnico, a broad reflection emerged on the quality of the analyses and design proposals concerning Milan’s tree‑lined avenues, with a particular focus on Viale Feltre. The general impression is that many of the Masterplan boards feel somewhat academic: visually pleasant, carefully coloured, yet lacking boldness and a true engagement with the spatial and urban dynamics of the site.
Against this backdrop, two projects stand out: the “planetary” proposal—interesting but still underdeveloped in terms of pathways—and, above all, the work of Rahima Rahdari, described as a genuine revelation for her clarity, synthesis, and graphic sensitivity. Her map—an arc that seems to launch an arrow—highlights with striking immediacy the structural elements of the context: the entrance square, the avenue, the Lambro River, Parco Lambro, and the large infrastructural scale of the eastern ring road. A reading that reveals both talent and humility.
Rahima is encouraged to enrich her work with experiential photographs of Viale Feltre, to compare direct perception with Google Maps imagery, which already shows very effectively the shading produced by the tree rows. The suggestion is to document sunlight and shadow, letting the “beneficial amber” fall across the sidewalk, capturing the microclimatic quality of the place.
A symbolic idea also emerges: using the leaf as a Green Icon representing ecosystem services and their “economic” value in terms of health and well‑being. The proposal imagines a board where complex evaluations—tables, field assessments, calculations—are translated into an intuitive visual language: five leaves = excellent, three leaves = moderate, zero leaves = critical. A graphic synthesis that could accompany a table of ecosystem scores, as also suggested by Cazzani.
The text further highlights the usefulness of a historical‑architectural board on the form of Milan’s boulevards, referencing the Piano Beruto and the need to study the historical series of trees: how many there were, how many remain, and how much well‑being has been lost over time. The decline of vegetation is read not only as an ecological issue but also as a loss of urban richness.
One of Cazzani’s most stimulating questions is emphasised: What aspects of tree‑lined avenues must absolutely be preserved, and why? And what can be reimagined or innovated at the urban scale?
Some representations of the urban heat island are considered ineffective, especially when they depict a wave of heat rising precisely where the trees are located. A more accurate and context‑sensitive representation is encouraged.
The author expresses interest in exploring the 1954 aerial orthophotos mentioned by Cazzani, as well as the urban form derived from the great Haussmannian boulevards—originally designed also to prevent barricades, yet now archetypes of urban arteries and “vital arteries” for tree rows.
The document closes with a cultural reference to Hermann von Pückler‑Muskau, a master of 19th‑century landscape design, whose work embodies a refined sensitivity to nature, perception, and the shaping of landscape—an inspiration for contemporary reflections on urban green spaces.